Wednesday, April 2, 2014

India's Mood Swings - Elections 2014

Someone really kind and sweet , sent this for me. Thank you, Rama!
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This appeared in Asian Age...

India’s mood
swings…Elections 2014

Simon Denyer, the former India Bureau chief
of the Washington Post, has published a book titled ‘Rogue Elephant’. In an
interview he claimed he was very optimistic about India, underlining what makes
India a better nation than its main rival, China. “ I believe democracy is what
makes India great.” Given the importance Indians give to opinions expressed by
foreigners ( read: Western press), don’t be surprised if Denyer’s quotes are liberally used by
political parties of varied hues, to push their agendas as D-Day ( 7th
April) rolls up. With less than a month to go before this rogue elephant goes
to the polls, the mood of the moment is decidedly devilish. The voter can
identify more villains than heroes in the wide open field, and that is hardly
comforting! With just one certainty in
place ( If the BJP gets its calculations right and forms the next government at
the Centre, Narendra Modi will become the Prime Minister of India) , there is
enough ammunition / provocation built into that reality to make several
citizens nervous. More than India’s citizens,such an eventuality is making our
neighbours jittery. Understandably so.During
an invigorating panel discussion at the Lahore Lit Fest in February, several
questions were built around the Modi Effect. Audience anxiety was palpable as
concerned Pakistanis expressed their fears for the future of Muslims in India.
I wanted to reassure them that if Modi does indeed become Prime Minister ( and
let me state at this crucial juncture that I have been a very vocal critic of
Modi ), he will go out of his way to placate India’s Muslim population that
makes up a good 15 % ( approximately) of
our 1.3 billion people. Not because he has had a dramatic change of
heart. He will do so because he is one of the shrewdest politicians in the world
right now. Modi is ambitious enough to
seek a place in history books - a place
that shows him in a good light. He is also astute enough to realize how
important it is for him to undo the past, or at any rate, pretend to do so. He
has to make amends, in order to lead the country. Modi may never ever be in a
position to obliterate Godhra from public memory and debate, but given the
chance to head the next government, he will need to prove his secular
credentials convincingly and emphatically. Especially when it comes to America
– a country that has yet to grant Modi a visa. This should come as a great
relief to those who believe Modi will suppress and oppress India’s minorities.
No Sir, he won’t! There is far too much at stake. And as Prime Minister, Modi
will go flat out to overturn his old reputation. More than anything else, Modi now wants to
position himself as a global player. In
order to achieve that objective, he will have to woo world leaders. And the
best way to woo them is via commerce. Investments. Money. Trade. Commerce does
not go well with hate politics. Muslims will be safer and far better off in Modi’s India than with anybody else.

The ‘anybody else’ in this case is Rahul
Gandhi. A well meaning gentleman not known for his intellectual prowess.And
certainly not equipped to lead India. It seems apparent each time one
encounters key Congresswallas, that the old party has conceded defeat before a
single vote has been cast. Denyer had
accurately described Manmohan Singh as a ‘silent but tragic’ figure. With Singh
having diminished himself in such an embarrassing fashion, that leaves just
Rahul and his mama Sonia, to soldier on valiantly to try and save the party’s
tattered image. This, while senior party colleagues make zero attempt to conceal
their resigned and vanquished attitude. Perhaps the fatigue of fighting
corruption charges on all fronts is finally catching up with Congress party
stalwarts and their corporate cronies. This eyes-wide-open response to
corruption is a big first in a country that has passively and patiently looked
the other way during UPA’s brazen misrule . Today, we can take pride in the
fact that India’s vigilant judiciary (and not the army) is calling the shots.
There is finally a glimmer of hope that justice does exists in this 66 year-old
bumbling democracy. Big guns who’d enjoyed immunity and protection for decades
are being systematically reined in by alert law makers. Some of India’s well
entrenched sacred cows are being openly targeted by the likes of ‘anarchist’ Arvind Kejriwal. Nobody would
have imagined that a person like Subrata Roy, who headed a ….. business empire,
would actually be sent to Tihar Jail, where he is presently lodged, sharing a
common criminal’s cell with .. other inmates. Kejriwal himself is not being
spared by a vigilant media which had made a cult hero out of him just a few
months ago. Participating in a vibrant debate in Kolkata recently, it was
encouraging to note how energetically the informed and alert audience members
grilled the panelists, throwing aggressive questions at everyone, including
Salman Khurshid, India’s Minister for External Affairs, and the soft-spoken
Yogendra Yadav, the Aam Aadmi Party representative.

This is democracy at its best. 50% of India
is under the age of 30. These young people are impressed by just one word – JOBS! Unemployment remains the single
biggest issue for these restless, educated boys and girls. There are 70 lakh
unemployed people right now. Whichever party manages to cobble the numbers
together and form the next government, will need to factor in the frustrated
youth of India into the political narrative on a priority basis. Regional
parties playing up caste politics, will no doubt act as the big spoilers at the polls. That is how
it has always been in India’s political scenario. But beyond narrow mindedness and bigotry, the
biggest hope for citizens in Elections 2014 remains the robust economic
potential of India. In the right hands, India could still get back its lost
position as the world’s third most significant superpower. Forget meaningless
debates about New Politics Vs. Old Politics. What India needs is GOOD politics
– with zero tolerance shown towards corruption . I feel pretty upbeat we’ll get
there soon.

Let me say this with conviction girl, you are dead right in every word. Sometime ago, I corresponded with Simon and gave him some details about the book's sale in Chennai. I am going to email your comment. Surely, he is going to be pleased. God Bless You!

Rahul gandhi looks so handsome and vulnerable. The other candidate looks like a ruffian cunning and dangerous. Rahul should have become a bollywood or hollywood hero and the other would have been his apt villain. They should not have entered the murky world of Indian politics.

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Loukik,a bi-annual bi-lingual journal of folklore and cultural studies startedits journey in 2007 with an objective of creating a space forpublication of results of works based on systematic and methodologicallysound exploration in folklore and cultural studies in the vernacular aswell as in English. Since long we have been sensing a need for a well–formatted journal in Bengali. Many of the European and Asian countrieshave high standard academic journal in their own languages. If it ispossible there , why it will be an insurmountable task for us. We noticethat pithy discourses are still not rare in Bengali. But we concedethat our means is limited. With these constraints we hope to carryforward our much cherished objectives.

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agree wid u,i saw the debate of your panel with politicians about old vs new politics..yet there was no conclusion drawn from the debate as ministers drawin away from the point..your panel won but u it concluded well..yogendra was its bst..India want new kind of politics(nayak) and from my view a bit of anarchy is good for indian politics but it should reach people..otherwise politicians terms it as a communist or naxalities movement to draw people away from the revolutionary ideas of an anarchy..RBI also raise interst to curb inflation for the future,like wise an anarchy may me seen as an ungovermental but at last this is wat will save India..continue writin ur good

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